My first memories are of being a young fella in Lasaka, Zambia and seeing Victoria falls. I lived there with my parents for a few years and still hear dads stories about his hunting trips and look at pictures of life back then.

Africa is in as much turmoil as the Middle East these days. Can't imagine wanting to set foot on the dark continent until civil order is restored across the entire country. One must have a gigantic pile of cash and a trophy room the size of a football stadium to accomidate any African trophies. The average American citizen who hunts can only dream about making such a foray to Africa.

The African Safari with guide, standing in short sleeved shirt and shorts, big bore side by side double rifle open over his shoulder Looks fantastic as depicted in the magazine articles. They always show a magnificent heavy horned Cape buffalo or majestic powerful male Lion with the great white hunter crouched behind his kill. The reality is only a slecet group of very wealthy individuals will ever view Africa through the scope of a hunting rifle.

I have no room in my 9'X 12' game room and reloading room for those incredable creatures so I must continue to dream and read about such hunting prowess.

Reloader,
Put a deposit down and start saving, life is only so long.
It took me 40 years to get there, and yes, I will be back.
For me it was Capstick in my dad's American Hunter magazine

As a kid, my main source of bedtime reading was a Readers Digest anthology for kids with an excerpt of 'Hunter' by John Hunter. Times have changed, don't think we'd see a kids anthology today with that story in it. The illustrations were great, with the most memorable being a plate of Hunter leaning out of a rail car to pot a lion with a Mauser sporter. His stories of the Masai lion hunts, a local pounded into the dirt by a rogue elephant stick with me today.

I used to go hang out at New Orleans Arms on Royal St (I think) in the French Quarter. I believe this is where the great engraver Lynton McKenzie worker. I'd lust over the old guns, sure wish I could go back in time to realize what I was looking at back then. These two experiences shaped my view of the ultimate hunting experience as well as my taste in classic guns and cartridges.

July 2004 my son and I go to Namibia for our first Africa trip. A lifetime's goal about to be realized. Bob

Reloader66,

My wife and I together don't make $100,000 a year but we went to Africa this year!!! We live in a modest 20 year old, 90k house, she drives a '94 car and if the company I work for didn't help pay for it, because I use it at work, I wouldn't drive a '99 truck. My last one was a '89. We are far from rich!! But in some way, my wife would say a lot ways, I'm cheap. I have to be to do and have the things we WANT and yes WE want to go back to Africa. So I bring my lunch to work every day, I don't buy new rifles, in fact I sold all but 3 of the ones I had, I don't have a credit card, we only eat out 2 Saturday nights a month, I give up my cell phone and she cut hers back to the bone. Why, because we wanted to go to Africa. After we got back we deceid we didn't need a bigger house or add on that 24' x 24' den/trophy room we talked about because we want to go BACK to Africa.

I'm not sure what you think it cost to hunt Africa and like you, for years I thought it was out of our reach. We cut cost and saved for 2 years before we went. We spent 9 days in Africa, took 7 trophies including a Lion at cost of a little over $12,000 and it was worth every DAMN penny we worked so hard to save!! Sure 12k is a lot of money to us and I guessing it is to you also, but you CAN hunt Africa for less. Reloader66, Africa IS within your reach. It may take a while but don't give up on your dream. Our safari is proof dreams do come true!!

J.A. Hunter, Gerard and Jack O�Connor got me. By the way, also Rider Haggard, from whom most of the characters taken by Wilbur Smith came. His books can be read for free in the web. Look for Allan Quatermain stories!

Can't say that I worked up a passion yet, but the spark I got and I got it from all of you here in AR. It actually took some months of presence on AR until I even was tempted to look into the Africa Forum, because I thought hunting in Africa was only for rich toffs and most African game was on the edge of extinction anyway (as I had heard on TV).

I really can't say for sure but I've had the bug ever since I can remember. I was going through a divorce in the early 90's and met an outfitter at one of our Safari Club chapter meetings. A lot of other members had gone with him and I figured what the Hell lets go. I couldn't split what I didn't have so off I went on a ten day plains game hunt to Zim. In 05 I'll be returning for Buff, Lion and other assorted beasts. Africa is like Alaska in that once you go you'll be figuring out a way back. It gets in your blood and won't come out.